


Gauntlet Disasters

by mitzirocker



Series: Reset Timeline Adventures [1]
Category: Twitch Plays Pokemon (Let's Play)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-22
Updated: 2020-03-05
Packaged: 2021-02-27 20:21:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,844
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22851667
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mitzirocker/pseuds/mitzirocker
Summary: The plan was to throw away the tattered wreck of an old timeline and create a new one, free from all the outsiders and glitches that crept in and poisoned the world. With everything reset, it was hoped that the new timeline would bring the TPPverse into a more perfect state, and lead to a bright and pure future.That plan went horribly wrong almost immediately, because of course it did.
Series: Reset Timeline Adventures [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1756045
Kudos: 9





	1. In Which the Most Important Event of the Original Timeline Straight-Up Does not Happen

**Author's Note:**

> For more in-depth rambling about what I think caused the Gauntlet, check out this [already-outdated pillowfort post!](https://www.pillowfort.social/posts/1100747)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Turns out if you're not being tortured into insanity as you're absorbed into an uncaring mind hive, your take on Helix is a little different.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is kind of a remix of [this fic,](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16954515/chapters/40383854) and you can also read [this fic](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17262266) for more context, if you want.

The caves go deep. Red was looking forward to reaching Mt. Moon when he started his journey. The furthest he’s ever been from Pallet was when Oak brought him along on a trip to Pewter two years ago, and while he was there Red heard a lot about the unusual pokémon within the mountain and the many legends that surround it. He was planning to fully explore the cave system once he reached Mt. Moon, maybe make a map, definitely fill out entries in his new pokédex. Of course –

_WOOP WOOP HEH THIS GUY IS NEVER HARD ISN’T THERE AN ELIXIR UNDER THAT ROCK THAT’S IN POK_ _ÉMON TOWER DUMBASS CLEFAIRY COUNT 17 HOPE THIS CHARMELEON LASTS DO THE ROCKET GRUNTS SEEM WIMPIER THAN USUAL TO ANYONE ELSE GUYS WE NEED TO DON’T YOU DARE BRING THAT BACK IT’LL BE RAINING AGAIN ONCE WE GET OUT OF HERE JUST YOU WAIT FOSSIL TIME! FOSSIL TIME! FOSSIL TIME!_

– things haven’t gone quite like he planned.

Having an extradimensional mind hive (at least that’s what the Voices say they are) stuck in his head has been… interesting. Sure, he’s lost his race to the Indigo Plateau with Blue basically immediately, and every so often enough of the Voices will disagree on where to go next that he’ll trip over nothing and fall flat on his face, but they know so much about Kanto he’s never once gotten lost. The Voices always know exactly what he needs to do to get past an obstacle, they’re experts at battling (though translating their knowledge into actual strategy is somewhat harder) and when they’re waiting for their pokémon to get healed they tell him silly stories about the many people they know.

(Earlier on in his journey, Red tried to fill out his pokédex, sketching rattata and pidgey on Route 1. Every time he got started, the Voices would remember other kids on other journeys who did the same thing, and he would see filled out pokédex entries perfectly describing mon he didn’t even know existed. The world outside Pallet Town used to be this huge mysterious place where anything could happen, and now Kanto is so simple and familiar and banal that the Voices complain about it. He’s stopped updating his pokédex.)

The guy Red beat last time he came through here – _MIGUEL, RIGHT? OR FRANK NO THAT’S THE ROCKET WITH THE RATICATE_ – is giving Red the same weird look he’s gotten from a lot of people since he started his journey. It’s a mixture of ‘why are you moving like that’ and ‘what’s wrong with your eyes’ and ‘how the heck did you beat me?!’ Red first saw on Blue, who’s proceeded to yell it at him every time Red kicks his ass. After a few seconds of incredulous staring, Miguel pinches his nose and says, “Fine! Pick one already!” He gestures to two dusty rocks lying in a heap on the floor, and the Voices completely lose it.

 _HELIX HELIX HELIX HELIX HELIX DOME DOME DOME DOME DOME WE MISSED YOU GUYS BETS CLOSE IN THREE TWO ONE DID YOU MISS US WHO WOULDN’T MISS US_ – At first Red is a bit confused. He’s heard of Helix and Dome before, in the stories the Voices tell him; Helix is the Voice’s best friend, or near enough, a companion in chaotic adventuring who pulls them out of trouble as much as they return the favour. Dome is rule-obsessed and really doesn’t like the Voices, but cares deeply about the same world they love and is also really fun to tease. Red’s managed to gather that Helix and Dome aren’t ordinary humans from the Voices’ rambling stories, but he didn’t think they were _rocks_ – _HERETIC HEATHEN AREN’T THOSE MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE TO BE FAIR WE HAVEN’T ACTUALLY SEEN ANY FOSSIL GOD TEMPLES YET THE KID’S PROBABLY NEVER HEARD OF THEM WHO HASN’T HEARD OF HELIX MORE LIKE WHO ISN’T TIRED OF HELIX LET’S PICK DOME THIS TIME DO YOU WANT TO GET THE KID’S EARS WHINED OFF_

While the Voices are arguing, Red examines the fossils. They look like ordinary rocks, just big enough to require two hands to pick up, with faint ridges that could be long-dead sea creatures etched onto their surfaces. They’re not glowing or talking or anything, but the longer he looks at them the more he realises that there’s something off about them, a weird... Red can’t think of a word, can’t even pinpoint the sense he’s using, but these definitely aren’t just rocks. Since Red’s always liked ammonites, and his hand seems to be moving right anyway, Red reaches out and touches the helix fossil –

The abyss opens. It’s so dark, all around him, like a universe without light. Vast, ancient, all-consuming, it could swallow up Kanto and not even notice, it could burn the stars out of the sky, Red instinctively reaches for the Voices but they’re muffled, he can barely hear them, he’s all alone, falling into the –

The void twitches. And then it looks at him.

Screaming, Red crashes back into reality. The Voices roar back to life – _WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT IS THE KID OKAY THE HELL HAPPENED TO_ – and he’s back in his body, which, he notes absently, has been flung down the stairs away from the dig, away from the pit. Red can still see the gaping hole, only now he can see how the cavern and the nerd and the air itself are all drawn towards the endless chasm at the bottom of the world, how the stalactites are slowly twisting into spirals, how everything he’s ever known is just a growth on the back of something that can’t possibly be the Voices’ oldest friend.

But – _HOW DID IT GET SO FRAGMENTED IT HASN’T SCREAMED LIKE THAT SINCE OLDEN DO WE KNOW ANYTHING THAT COULD HAVE WOUNDED IT THAT BADLY IT DIDN’T EVEN RECOGNISE US_ – and memories are flitting around along with the words, of chaos and fire and war and death, worlds destroyed and remade and devoured, Kanto in ruins, laughing cultists crushing a pokémon egg –

Red has reached the top of the mountain, freezing hands gripped tightly on his sword. The boy he’s been searching for is standing maybe a few meters in front of him, palms facing up, head bowed down. The spirals that dance through the falling snow perfectly connect to the spirals carved into his skin, and the surrounding spacetime crackles and snaps with building power. The boy looks up, and Red sees his own face.

He isn’t aware of what happens next, of how his terror melds with the Voices’ panic until the only thing in their shared mind is ‘I have to get away!’ He doesn’t register that he’s running for the exit, eyes bleeding purple and limbs clipping through stone. The next real thing he’s aware of, beyond the memories and fear, is wind on his arms and sunlight beaming down. Churro (when did he get out of his pokéball?) is yanking his leg and shrieking, and dew is dripping onto his trainers. He isn’t breathing. Maybe he should try doing that again?

While his pokémon attempt to protect him from an unseen enemy and the Voices try to figure out what’s even happening, Red collapses into the grass just outside the eastern entrance to Route 4. He notices the fractals rippling through the leaves of the trees at the bottom of the hill, and giggles.

Miguel waits until he’s absolutely sure whatever that was isn’t coming back, and then stuffs the fossils into his backpack. Sighing deeply, he heaves his backpack on and pulls himself to his feet. The mere fact that Team Rocket is looking for fossils in Mt. Moon, according to Brock, is reason enough to smuggle as many as possible out to the Pewter Museum. Miguel doesn’t agree that getting the fossils away from the Rockets is worth removing them from their geological context, but on the other hand he’s getting paid.

As he walks, though, he can’t help but notice something coming off the fossils in his backpack. He can’t put words to what he’s sensing, and isn’t even certain what sense he’s feeling it with, but he can tell. There’s something weird about them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reddo's ennui about his role in the world will grow into defiant cynicism, and his knowledge of the horrors that lurk beneath the world will drive him into glitchmancy. I'm not 100% sure he'll turn into Larry, but I feel safe in saying he's going to wreck shit.


	2. In Which the Voices and Their Host Have Very Different Definitions of 'Pokémon Trainer'

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The TPPverse is way less imminently-about-to-burn-down than the Voices are used to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the record, I tend to count intermissions as stuff that happened, but not involving the Voices. All the crazy glitch shit Red did on Cinnabar Island happened over the course of, like, a year, long after the Voices ditched him.

As Dipper’s shoving the door of the Golden Garden flower shop shut, he notices that the Voices have quieted down. Instead of providing a running commentary on his every passing thought or trying to spot people they recognise, most of them are clumped up together, whispering to each other so fast Dipper can’t figure out what they’re talking about. There are still a few Voices on steering, but they don’t seem to have any destination in mind, so it’s easy enough for Dipper to push them a little so he can look inside the shop window and properly study the flowers.

He’s watching the shop’s tangela coax a reluctant camellia into blooming when the big huddle of Voices suddenly stops talking. The relative silence is stark enough that Dipper straightens up, half wanting to check behind him to see where they’ve gone. The non-huddle Voices murmur softly, things like _AWW THE FLOWERS WERE NICE_ and _HERE WE GO AGAIN_.

 ** _KID_** , a lot of the Voices say, all at once, so loud that Dipper’s vision flashes purple for a second, **_WE NEED TO TALK_**.

One of the first things Dipper learned about the Voices is that it’s way easier to get them to listen by talking to them than by thinking. Talking to thin air gets him weird looks from the people around him, but Dipper got those anyway even before the Voices. Letting the Voices use his hands to slip his bike out of his bag, he asks, “About what?”

 _OH FOR HELIX’S SAKE YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS HOW DIPPY IS THIS KID WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU_ – it takes a second for it to click, but judging from how frustrated they are, there’s only one thing they can mean. Just like Dipper, the Voices want to go on a pokémon journey, but from the moment he met them it’s been incredibly obvious that they mean that in a totally different way than he does.

On the first day, Dipper told the Voices about his plans to make a study of how plantlike pokémon interact with their environment and how they assist humans in daily life. The Voices told him that monotype teams were way more trouble than they were worth, but there were cool grass types in the Kanto/Johto area they could catch. _COOL GRASS TYPE LOL WHAT’S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN GUYS DON’T FEED THE TROLLS YOU CAN SHUT UP TOO_ and throughout the ensuing massive argument the Voices threw around memories of pokémon fighting gym leaders and criminal masterminds and threats to the world itself. Dipper watched in growing confusion until he realised where the misunderstanding was. “Oh, I’m not a combat trainer! I’m going on a research journey!”

The Voices have absolutely no idea what that is. Filling out the pokédex, that they can understand, but staying in a town for months at a time? Making careful observations of the world around you? Only having two or three pokémon, and studying lots of the same species? Doing the same thing, in the same place, with the same people and pokémon, day in, day out? The Voices don’t understand how that can even be called a pokémon journey, let alone why anyone would do it instead of crossing the region and becoming the best of the best and maybe saving the world along the way. Dipper’s happy enough to coast along with their whistle-stop tour of Johto – he’s going to write an amazing report when this is all over – but every so often his idea of what a pokémon journey is runs up against theirs and things get loud.

 _WE’RE THREE BADGES IN AND WE STILL DON’T HAVE A FULL TEAM WE NEED TYPE COVERAGE THAT ACTUALLY LISTENS TO WHAT WE SAY MORTY IS GOING TO DESTROY US_ _WE’RE GONNA HAVE TO DO THE ELITE FLOOR AGAIN AAAAAAAGH_ “You know, if you don’t want to fight this Morty guy, we don’t have to,” says Dipper, as he gets on his bike. _THIS MORTY GUY WE NEED SURF TO GET TO CIANWOOD DIPSTICK WE COULD BEAT HIM WITH GRASS TYPES BUT WE’D HAVE TO GRIND LIKE CRAZY AND WE’LL NEED TO FILL OUT OUR TEAM EVENTUALLY WHAT KIND OF LOSER DOESN’T WANT TO BEAT THE LEAGUE NO KIDDING HOW DOES A TRAINER PROTECT THEMSELF WITHOUT A TEAM GUYS GUYS IT’S EGG TIME!_

Dipper’s head jerks down _DON’T DO THAT ASSHOLES WE’RE TRYING TO BALANCE HERE_ and sure enough, the little incubator attached to his pokéball belt is beeping. Dipper’s legs kick out, skidding the bike to a halt in the middle of the street. He taps the button on the incubator and the odd egg he got from the daycare springs into his hands, shaking just like Elm’s mystery egg did when it was about to hatch. The Voices are excited because _SHINY SHINY TYPE COVERAGE BETS CLOSE IN THREE C’MON GIVE US A SMOOCHUM SHINY SHINY SHINY_ and Dipper is interested in seeing what comes out of the egg, but he’s mostly excited because this egg used to belong to Red.

Oak and Elm live near enough to each other that their labs work together a lot, so as Elm’s official junior aide Dipper grew up with Red and Blue. They were both way more interested in battling than he was, and Dipper knows they thought he was a bit dumb, but the three boys still played together and talked about their dreams whenever Oak or Elm made the trip. During their pokémon journeys, though, they must have changed. Especially Red – Blue was always kind of a jerk, but during their one conversation after the League Red snapped at Dipper that all their old research projects were pointless wastes of time before marching out of Oak’s lab. Since then, Blue’s stayed a gym leader in the same town like he doesn’t even care about rising to the top, and Red’s completely disappeared.

The Voices are absolutely convinced that Red is on Mt. Silver, and have absolutely no idea why Dipper told Elm and the police instead of dashing up the mountain himself. Dipper’s not exactly searching for Red, but he does have his pokédex and he does want to talk to him again. If Dipper’s rambling path across the main routes of Johto (his attempt to explore the woods around Violet City sent the Voices into a full-on panic) just happens to cross with Red’s… It was a faint hope, until the daycare lady started talking about the young man just his age with red eyes and a notebook who brings odd eggs into the daycare every so often.

It isn’t much, but it proves that Red is out there, still doing science, still dreaming. And as the first crack appears in the eggshell, Dipper wonders what pokémon laid this egg, and how long they’ve been with Red. Another crack, and a chip breaks off the top! Sleepy poofs out of his pokéball so he can lean over and watch, followed by Agh, and Dipper and the Voices peer into the depths of the egg, trying to see who their new teammate will be.

A chunk falls off the side of the egg and onto the road, crackling with strange energy. A tiny pink limb sticks out _CLEFFA NO IT’S THE WRONG SHAPE THAT’S AN IGGLYBUFF_ and then retreats, as the pokémon inside the egg inhales _SEE IT’S BALLOONING BALLS WE COULD JUST HAVE KEPT THE TOGEPI AND SHUT UP WE CAN WORK WITH THIS_ and then bursts outward, sending cracks crazing across the shell. Shards of eggshell pop off, revealing the smooth and shimmering creature inside _HEY DOES IGGLYBUFF LOOK BRIGHTER THAN USUAL TO YOU GUYS ARE ITS EYES GREEN_ before it inhales and expands again. The egg shatters, and a surprisingly light _SHINY SHINY SHINY SHINY SHINY SHINY_ falls into Dipper’s hands.

The newly-hatched pokémon blinks her big green eyes up at Dipper, making a soft _puuuu_ sound. She inflates just enough to sit up on Dipper’s lap, and rotates her body around, taking in her new reality. Aww-ing along with Dipper, the Voices carefully give her enough of a bounce to land in the bike’s handbasket. While she makes friends with Sleepy, the Voices flip out Dipper’s pokédex with practiced ease. They even give her a somewhat pronounceable name, and proceed to burst out into raucous laughter.

There is a pop, and a low _grooooar_ , and Dipper looks up to find Rocky glaring down at him. The onix sways his head disapprovingly as he looks around, and Dipper notices that they’re still in the middle of the street, and they’re attracting a crowd of curious and increasingly impatient locals. The Voices are still in hysterics, so Dipper shuts his pokédex and walks his bike over to a quiet side street. He’s followed by Agh and Rocky, and little Ass (the Voices are howling now) riding on top of Sleepy’s head, _puuuu_ ing excitedly as her entire world moves.

Watching her bounce up and down on top of Sleepy’s head leaf, Dipper grins. He opens his pokédex again to look at her entry. Moves around by bouncing, that sounds right, she looks so happy, she – the pokédex screen flashes to something else, just for a second. “Huh?” _WHAT WAS THAT IS OUR DEX ON THE FRITZ WHAT DID RED DO WITH THIS THING AFTER WE DITCHED HIM_ and the Voices focus their attention on the pokédex screen, waiting.

It flashes again and the Voices yell _THERE_ , snatching the picture off the screen before Dipper’s eyes can process what he glimpsed. The Voices that caught it broadcast it throughout the mind hive, hundreds of different memories of the same thing, the pokédex’s screen flickering and glitching until it resolves into a new entry. All the text is garbled nonsense, from the name to the entry to the menu keys, unfamiliar characters(?) scattered everywhere. And the image –

It’s small, and black, and a little bit stripy. That’s all Dipper can tell, because when he thinks about the image too much it turns into an open wound, a gaping hole into the void leeching the colour out of all that surrounds it. It’s like nothing Dipper has ever seen before, nothing he knew could exist, but the Voices are tossing around other memories now, of dirt melding with crinkled metal and shrieking towers of indecipherable haze.

He snaps his pokédex shut and looks over at his pokémon. Ass is trying to bounce off Agh’s leaves and onto Rocky’s lowered head, giggling in her floaty way. It all looks normal, all makes sense. Dipper tries to relax, ignoring the Voices’ investigation and focusing on the feeling of the bicycle grip and his pokémon calling to each other. His pokédex is just glitching, the Voices are just being weird. Everything is okay.

Then he sees Ass’ shadow.

It’s a solid square block of black and white, flickering constantly like static on a TV. Whenever it moves, the spot it moved from stays black and white for a second before its colour starts leaching back in. It doesn’t make any noise, which somehow makes it worse. It’s just there, under the sunlight, on top of the cobbles, bouncing around as Ass laughs.

 _KID ARE YOU OKAY HUH THAT’S WEIRD MIGHT BE THE GLITCHIEST THING WE’VE SEEN WHEREVER-WE-ARE GRANTED WE COULDN’T EVEN FIND MISSINGNO LAST TIME_ sounding moderately interested, like the impossible thing Dipper can’t look away from isn’t even unusual. _IT’S JUST A WEIRD SHADOW NOTHING TO BE SCARED OF TRUST US WE’VE SEEN WAY WORSE_ _DON’T YOU DARE GIVE HIM EXAMPLES_ _HE’S ALREADY FREAKED OUT ENOUGH DOES SHE LOOK EVIL TO YOU GUYS_

She doesn’t. She’s riding on Sleepy’s head again as he waddles over, mewling worriedly at Dipper. Her shadow is turning Sleepy’s green neck white, but Sleepy isn’t reacting to it. Rocky’s looking right at it, but he looks more confused than anything else.

When Sleepy reaches him Dipper gives him a scritch on the neck. Ass pats (the Voices snicker) his hand reassuringly. Her shadow feels a little cold to pass through, but that’s all.

All of his pokémon look kind of worried, so Dipper smiles at them. “Do you guys wanna go to the National Park?” Sleepy hoots approvingly, Rocky slowly nods, and Agh flaps her leaves in the air. Dipper calls them all back into their pokéballs, lets Ass hop back into the handbasket, and weaves back into the bustling crowds of Goldenrod City. Even the Voices sound more like they usually do, playing Johto Pokédex Bingo, telling funny stories about adventures in the Radio Tower, wondering how Red got his hands on a minorly glitched egg.

Dipper would stop the bike if he actually had to pay any attention to pedalling. How did Red get Ass’ egg? Are all the eggs he gives to the daycare (Dipper uses the Voices’ term) glitchy? Why is he collecting so many glitchy eggs? Is he studying them? If he’s studying them, why isn’t he keeping in contact with the professors and telling everyone about what he’s learning, like he always dreamed of doing?

Dipper realises that he needs to talk to Red. He needs to ask him about Ass, if there’s anything he should look out for when dealing with her glitchy shadow. He needs to find out what he’s been doing the past three years, and why he won’t tell anyone about it. If Red’s somehow in trouble, well, Dipper’s not the hero type but _HAH YOU’RE OUR KID OF COURSE YOU’RE THE HERO TYPE WE’RE EXPERTS AT BEING HEROES FOR A CERTAIN DEFINITION THEREOF SSSSHHHH WE BEAT OLDEN AND NECROZMA WE CAN SAVE NEW RED_

“You guys are sure he’s on Mt. Silver?” _WHERE ELSE WOULD HE BE THERE’S ALWAYS SOMETHING IMPORTANT THERE EVEN IF HE’S NOT THERE HE’S USING THE JOHTO DAYCARE SO HE’S HANGING AROUND THE REGION WE’LL RUN INTO HIM ON OUR WAY_

Okay, thinks Dipper. Here we go. “How do we get there?” he asks the Voices. He needs to speak so they know to pay attention, but they can still examine the thoughts and feelings behind his words from inside his head. Half the time, they reply to what he feels instead of what he says.

 _AWW YEAH LET’S DO THIS THING FIRST THINGS FIRST WE NEED A FULL TEAM GOTTA PICK UP A SURFER WE SHOULD GET SOMETHING OFFENSIVELY ORIENTED BELLSPROUT IS A BIT REDUNDANT LET’S GET AN ARCANINE WE SHOULD PICK UP THE TM FOR_ and Dipper can’t follow the conversation any more, but that’s okay. The Voices are way more interested in and better at battling than he is, so he’ll let them handle that stuff.

Dipper isn’t the type of person who saves the world. Finding a friend, though? He can do that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dipper will earn the Voices' eternal love and respect by showing them how to use the pokédex printer function. Whenever the Voices get stuck on a boss and have massive arguments about strategy, Dipper will sneak out of the arena and go looking for interesting pokémon.
> 
> Ass the igglybuff was a failed attempt by Red to clone [this thing](https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/P%E3%82%A5_%E3%82%A5_%E3%82%A5), which is what igglybuff turn into if they're snuck into RB.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm gonna try to finish these in the intermissions between each run, but I also have essays to write, so I might slip behind.


End file.
